All Lanes to Open as 32nd Avenue and I-29 Reconstruction Work Zone Begins Wrap Up

The 32nd Avenue S and Interstate 29 (I-29) bridge work zone will open most driving lanes on the main-line of 32 Avenue S for motorists by end of day Wednesday and remaining traffic control will be removed by the end of the week on interstate weather permitting.

The multiuse path crossing over the I-29 bridge is open for use to connect bicycles and walking paths in the area. Pedestrians using this busy stretch of roadway have the opportunity to again cross safely by using the protected underpasses located at each of the interstate ramps and fenced walkway over the bridge. The northwest I-29 ramp underpass is the new addition to the multiuse path.

The project’s goal was to maximize the initial investment of the roadway and bridge and perform a variety of approaches, including preventative maintenance, widen existing infrastructure, or replacing aging infrastructure, to improve safety and benefit businesses with better access for drivers and pedestrians through the South Fargo corridor.

“This project is really a win-win on many fronts,” said City of Fargo Transportation Division Engineer, Jeremy Gorden. “Working with the NDDOT Fargo District and our contractors, we’ve created a safer interstate crossing for recreational purposes, and also upgraded a major corridor to accommodate future growth of the area. The project has been one of the more complicated jobs to finish with all the moving parts associated with building a bigger roadway and doing preventive maintenance work at the same time, and pairing that with very high mixed-use interstate and roadway traffic volumes.”

Aside from removing traffic control devices from the roadway, crews will be doing miscellaneous finishing work and painting underneath the I-29 bridge throughout the rest of the week.

Starting Thursday, October 19, final project work will continue off the main-line of 32nd Avenue S. The intersection of 39th Street S and 32nd Avenue S will have a short-term closure to southbound traffic for the next two weeks. Motorists will be able to continue to travel northbound. Crews will be working on half of the roadway at a time to complete the needed finishing work. Traffic wishing to return to 32nd Avenue S from 39th Street S will use the posted detour of 30th Avenue S to 42nd Street S.

“To bring better access to this area, we’ve been working in this area for close to eight months and been managing a work zone with lots of dynamics,” said NDDOT Fargo District Assistant District Engineer, Kevin Gorder. “There is a large amount of merging traffic from I-29 and area side streets in this stretch, shifting traffic control occurred across the multiple phases and our crews worked very close to traffic. This all is very distracting on its own without road construction happening. The area businesses, school districts, emergency services and health care organizations and drivers were patient with our crews and helped us bring this project to a successful completion.”

In the coming weeks, MATBUS routes in the area will shift back to original routes, and riders are asked to visit MATBUS.com to view updated routes.

The City of Fargo and NDDOT Fargo District construction cost is $19.6 million, and work started in mid-March. The contractors for the project reconstructed and widened 32nd Avenue S and I-29 bridge to a six-lane roadway to accommodate increasing traffic volumes, improved the driving surface of the I-29 bridge deck with an new overlay, add a new southbound I-29 eastbound loop ramp in the southwest quadrant of the bridge interchange, update and repaired utilities, street and traffic signals and increase to availability of shared-use paths through the area.

The 32nd Avenue S and I-29 area remains an active work zone for the next few weeks, please remember to eliminate distractions and obey posted speed limits as lanes begin to open up and crews are moving through the work zone.